Got even more done today...

2 nice days in a row!?

Kathy took the girls to her Dad's and then grocery shopping, leaving me some time to work on the boat. I started out with continuing the work I started yesterday. With some steel wool, I hit all of the spots that I put varnish on yesterday, including the deck, transom, splashwell, and gunwale. Then I started sanding the bow. I discovered that under all of the layers of paint and fairing compound from previous renovations, the original brass cutwater was still there. I scraped off the paint and buffed it out with some emery cloth. The original gloss is long gone, but it will dull to a nice patina, I think. The section below the bow eye will have to be removed before I can work on the bottom, but the very bottom screw head is stripped out, and I can't find by screw remover bit. I may have to pick up a new one.

After that, I hit everything with the shop vac and tack cloth to clean up all of the dust. Then I put a second coat of varnish on the transom, spashwell, and gunwale. I also put a 6th coat on the bow deck.

After all that, the kids were keeping themselves occupied for once, so I kept going. I put the first coat of white on the starboard side. It will take about 2-3 more coats to really smooth it out, the first coat was drank up by the very dry wood.

Sunny Day...

Today I got a bunch done. I started out working on the splashwell, the replacement gunwale, and the transom. I took a light grade sandpaper to the floor of the spashwell just to take off the top layer of varnish. The finish there wasn't too bad and did not need to be sanded to bare wood, it had only lost it's sheen and hadn't peeled. I then put a layer of new varnish on it.

Next I put a layer of varnish on the gunwale that I replaced. It will be the first of many.

Then I put a layer on the upper transom. I left off below the waterline because I wan't the bottom paint to soak into the wood as much as possible.

Next, I put another layer on the bow deck. I figure maybe one or 2 more coats and it will be done.

Lastly, I put a final layer of the green topside paint on the starboard sheerstrake.

The mud is gone...

...for the most part.


The ground is still a little soft and mushy under the boat. But at least I can walk on it without losing a shoe. With that good news I finally got back to work on the boat.

I put stain on the transom. It looks a little dark on the bottom plank, but that doesn't matter. That plank will be below the water line, so it will be covered by the bottom paint and the boot stripe.

I put another layer of the green paint on the starboard side sheer strake (nautical term I learned). And fixed up a scratch on the port side hull from when the shed flipped over. One of the shed legs must have hit the side of the boat as it was going up and over, during that wind storm.

Earlier in the week I, put the last coats of paint on the engine hood, and filled in the emblem with the same green as the sheer strake. That way the engine will at least match the boat's color, even if it doesn't match the boat's age.

Motor work

The boat house, outside is surrounded by deep snow, that is just starting to melt. Where do you think the water has been collecting?

In the boat house. There is about 2 inches of standing water on top of about 4 inches of mud. The snow melted, dissolved the dirt floor and is just sitting there, waiting for me to step in it. But I'm not playing that game. I have indoor work to do.

I started working on the cowl hood for the new motor. I took off the dried out gasket, and took off the front ID plate (which was about to fall off). Then I started cleaning.

I then hit it with some light sandpaper, and put a coat of marine enamel on it. Here is what it looked like before...

And after the first coat...